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Canada’s Aton Resources (TSX-V: AAN) has been granted a three-year extension to its current exploration license for the Abu Marawat gold asset, located in Egypt’s central-eastern desert.
The Vancouver-based miner became in February the second foreign company allowed to mine gold and other metals in the country, which last year issued new regulations to increase foreign investment in the sector.
The country’s mineral wealth remains largely under-explored and undeveloped, unlike its deposits of natural gas. The lack of activity was due, in part, to Egypt’s past system of royalties and profit-sharing agreements. They made it difficult and unprofitable for miners to explore for and exploit minerals.
The fresh rules eliminated the need for miners to form joint ventures with the Egyptian government and limits state royalties to a maximum of 20%.
The announced permit extension allows Aton to continue exploration work on the concession while awaiting final amendments to Egypt’s new mining laws.
Aton has identified a number of gold and base metal exploration targets in the Abu Marawat gold-copper deposit, such as Rodruin, Abu Gaharish and Hamama West.
The 600-sq.-km Abu Marawat concession has an inferred resource of 2.9 million tonnes grading 1.75 grams gold per tonne, 29.3 grams silver per tonne, 0.77% copper and 1.15% zinc.
Egypt, which links northeast Africa with the Middle East, has targeted $700 million in new investments in the mining and energy sectors by 2030.
